Student vs. Sous Chef

How do you think a college student would fare in a head-to-head cooking competition against a professional chef? No contest, right?

But what if you threw out the commercial-grade cookware and appliances and limited the equipment to dorm fridges and microwaves? And what if the ingredients were the kind that students can find without an excursion to a gourmet market? That might make for more of an even match.

That’s also the idea behind “Terps vs. Pros,” a new YouTube series created by dietetics student Patrick Keenan ’19 and sponsored by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Dining Services.

"I've found that people of all ages want to learn how to cook inexpensive and healthy meals, but it's difficult to find the right information," said Keenan, a former baker who now teaches culinary techniques through a private company. "Throughout our series I hope we can share some of our ideas with the UMD community and inspire them to incorporate healthy cooking into their daily lives."

In the inaugural episode uploaded yesterday, Keenan roams campus to quiz students about their eating habits and ask: “What do you think about cooking an entire meal in a microwave?”—and then he makes the two contestants actually do that.